The son of Victor Emmanuel II and Adelaide of Austria, Umberto took part in the Italian Wars of Independence as a commander of the Royal Sardinian Army.

Tensions mounted as a result of public opposition to Italy's colonial wars, the spread of socialist ideas, and crackdowns on civil liberties.

He was deeply loathed in left-wing circles for his conservatism and his support of the Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan, in which demonstrations over rising food prices were violently suppressed by the military.

The son of Victor Emmanuel II and Archduchess Adelaide of Austria, Umberto was born in Turin, which was then capital of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, on 14 March 1844,[1] his father's 24th birthday.

[citation needed] At first, Umberto was to marry Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, a scion of a remote sideline of the Austrian imperial house; however, she died as the result of an accident at the age of 18.

[1] While Umberto was to be described by a modern historian as "a colourless and physically unimpressive man, of limited intellect", Margherita's appearance, cultural interests and strong personality were to enhance the popularity of the monarchy.

[5] In 1876, when the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Salisbury, visited Rome, he reported to London that King Victor Emmanuel II and Crown Prince Umberto were "at war with each other".

[2] The British historian Denis Mack Smith commented that it was a sign of the great wealth of the House of Savoy that Umberto was able to pay off his father's debts without having to ask parliament for assistance.

[2] Like his father, Umberto was a poorly educated man without intellectual or artistic interests, never read any books, and preferred to dictate rather than write letters.

[1] While on a tour of the kingdom, accompanied by Queen Margherita and the Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli, he was attacked with a dagger by an anarchist, Giovanni Passannante, during a parade in Naples on 17 November 1878.

The King commuted the sentence to one of penal servitude for life,[1] which was served in a cell only 1.4 meters (4 ft 7 in) high, without sanitation and with 18 kilograms (40 lb) of chains.

[8] In foreign policy, Umberto I approved the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and the German Empire, repeatedly visiting Vienna and Berlin.

[10] Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany told him during one visit that he should strengthen the Regio Esercito to the point that he could abolish parliament and rule Italy as a dictator.

[12] As it was impossible to win elections in the Mezzogiorno without the support of organized crime, politicians cut deals with the bosses of the Camorra and Mafia to exchange toleration of their criminal activities for votes.

[14] Umberto, an aggressive proponent of militarism, once said that to accept cuts in the military budget would be "an abject scandal and we might as well give up politics altogether".

On 25 June 1895 Crispi refused to allow a parliamentary inquiry into the bank scandal, saying that as a prime minister, he was above the law because he had "served Italy for 53 years".

[18] Umberto I was suspected of aspiring to a vast empire in northeast Africa, a suspicion which tended somewhat to diminish his popularity after the disastrous Battle of Adwa in Ethiopia on 1 March 1896.

[1] After the Battle of Adwa, public frustration with the deeply unpopular war with Ethiopia came to the fore, and demonstrations broke out in Rome with people shouting "death to the king!"

Social tensions mounted as a consequence of the relatively recent occupation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the spread of socialist ideas, public hostility to the colonialist plans of the various governments, especially Crispi's, and the numerous crackdowns on civil liberties.

American anarchist Leon F. Czolgosz claimed that the assassination of Umberto I was his inspiration to kill President William McKinley in September 1901.